Many schools will be requesting that the heat be turned on in the next few weeks. There are a few things you should know. The official switch will occur after Thanksgiving. Principals have the discretion to make the change when they feel it's necessary.
Water source :
Many schools can have the heat on in the mornings and the air-conditioner in the afternoon; however, there are several schools where this cannot be done due to the type of system in the school. Water source systems require heating thousands of gallons of water to produce heat and chilling thousands of gallons of water to produce air conditioning. If you are one of these schools, please inform your staff and faculty that it takes days to switch from one to the other. We're always available to answer questions, but we cannot alter the laws of physics. When you make the decision to switch over the heat, it cannot be reversed easily if your school is a water source heating system. See the attached file for a list of schools.
Mixed heat :
Some schools have several heating systems such as warm air heat and boiler heat (radiators). The areas of your building that have boiler heat (radiators), the air tends to be less dry and feels warmer. The areas of your building where forced air heat is dryer will feel cooler. Please do not confuse this with the system not working properly. They will have a different feel and both systems may very well be on the proper temperature. The proper heating range is 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Boiler Heat :
Schools with boiler system (radiators) can be very difficult to regulate and often become too warm.
Unfortunately, it takes a great deal of time to cool the water in this system.
New systems :
Newer HVAC systems in classrooms will have air moving constantly. This is required by law. To keep the
CO2 levels down, newer systems have to bring in fresh air. This may feel like once the heat goes off, the air conditioning comes on even on extremely cold days. The system will maintain a proper temperature of
68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
How we feel :
We all feel temperatures differently. When submitting work orders, especially on extremely cold days when the HVAC crews are extremely busy, please state the facts and do not exaggerate. We will deal with the most severe cases first. If you need an electronic thermometer to verify temperatures, submit a requisition to Maintenance and Facilities and one will be furnished at no cost (one per school).
Customer service :
You may call and request a supervisor to come to your site if your inquiries or work orders are going unanswered. Please allow a reasonable amount of time for the HVAC technicians to respond.
Hopefully this information will help us all work together better during this heating season. If there is anything we can do to make your facility more comfortable, please don't hesitate to contact my office.
Benton O. Starks
Senior Director of Facilities
Richmond County School System
1781 15th Street Augusta, GA 30901
Phone No. 706.737.7188
Fax No. 706.481.1591

SCHOOL
SCHOOLS REQUIRING STARTUP FOR HEATING SEASON
COMMENTS CHANGEOVER
AUTO ARC
BUNGALOW RD.
COPELAND
EAST AUGUSTA
FOREST HILLS
GARRETT
CAFETERIA USE CHILLER/BOILER,
BOILER/CHILLER
BARDS
BOILER/CHILLER
2 BOILERS/BARDS
BOILER/BARDS
GLENN HILLS HIGH BOILER/CHILLER, NEW WING IS WATER SOURCE
HEAT PUMPS
HAINS
HEPHZIBAH HIGH
HORNSBY
JOSEY
CLASSROOMS-WATER SOURCE HEAT PUMPS,
VOCATIONAL-DX HEAT PUMPS, MEDIA AND
BARDS
BOILER/CHILLER, ADDITION - ROOF TOPS
BOILER/CHILLER
DX HEAT PUMPS, VOCATIONAL WING IS
CHILLER/BOILER
LAMAR
LANEY
LANGFORD
MERRY
MILLEDGE
MURPHEY
PINE HILL
BOILER/BARDS
2 BOILERS/BARDS
BOILER, MUSIC & ART HEAT PUMPS / BARDS
BOILER/CHILLER
BOILER/SPLIT UNIT
BOILER/BARDS, NEW WING IS DX HEAT PUMPS
BARDS
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
MANUAL
AUTOMATIC
MANUAL
(VOCATIONAL)
AUTO
AUTO
MANUAL
AUTO
MANUAL
AUTO
AUTOMATIC
ROLLINS
SEGO
TUBMAN
WINDSOR SPRING
BOILER/BARDS
BOILER/CHILLER, HEAT PUMPS IN ADDITIONS &
ADMIN.
4 BOILERS/BARDS, NEW WING IS WATER SOURCE
HEAT PUMPS
BOILER/CHILLER, GYM, MEDIA, BACK WING HEAT
PUMPS
AUTO
AUTO
AUTO
MANUAL